Aldine ISD Trustees Hold Monthly Board Meeting on Nov. 17

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Aldine ISD Trustees held their Nov. 17 Board meeting with some Trustees attending live in the Board Room of the Donaldson Administration Building and others via videoconference following the modified open meetings act by Gov. Greg Abbott. Board President Paul Shanklin, Assistant Secretary Dr. Kimberley Booker and Members Randy Bates and Steve Mead joined Aldine ISD Superintendent Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney and members of her Executive Leadership Team in the Board Room, while Vice-President Rose Avalos, Secretary Connie Esparza and Member Dr. Viola M. Garcia took part in the meeting via videoconference.

Audit Report released

During the Nov. 17 Board meeting, Dr. Tamika Alford Stephens, Chief Business and Operations Officer presented the district’s Audit Report for the 2019-20 school year prepared by the district’s external auditors, Whitley Penn. Dr. Alford-Stephens announced to the Board that the audit report Whitley Penn presented was considered “unmodified” or a “clean opinion.” Dr. Stephens added Whitley Penn said the Audit Report was the highest level of assurance to be given on financial statements. Dr. Stephens recognized members of the finance team whose hard work was rewarded with an outstanding Audit Report. She lauded the work of Alexia Rogers, Executive Director of Finance, Director of Accounting and Business Services Dr. John McGee, Assistant Director of Accounting and Business Services Fernando Flores, Director of Federal and State Programming Perla Davila, Assistant Director of Accounting and Business Services Joe’Lee Jackson and Accountants Shantay Lee and Veronika Norris.

Targeted Improvement Plan hearing held

Dr. Dawn Ayers-Rodriguez, Chief of Strategic Initiatives and Accountability, presented the Targeted Improvement Plan during the Nov. 17 Board meeting. Dr. Ayers told the Board that to comply with state requirements, Targeted Improvement Plans (TIPs) for campuses rated ‘C’ overall (D in a Domain), D overall or F on the Texas Accountability System and campuses rated Comprehensive based on the federal requirements of Domain III must be presented to the Board for approval. Because Aldine ISD and all campuses received a rating of Not Rated: Declared State Disaster for 2020, TEA notified Aldine that campuses must continue implementing the previously ordered sanctions and interventions from 2019.

Aldine ISD’s 57 AP Scholars recognized

Chief Academic Officer Dr. Todd Davis presented the Teaching, Learning and Leading presentation by introducing Dr. Susan Pelezo, Executive Director of Advanced Academics, who announced Aldine ISD has 57 students who are AP Scholars. AP (Advanced Placement) Scholar Awards recognize high school students who have demonstrated exemplary college-level achievement on AP Exams. An AP Scholar is a student who receives scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams. An AP Scholar with Honors is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of those exams. An AP Scholar with Distinction is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of the exams.

Aldine High School AP Scholars are Minh Thu Nguyen, Davis Robles, and Steven Sanchez. Blanson CTE AP Scholars are Jose Calvillo, Jose Duran, Max Pequeno, Raquel Reyes, Ricardo J. Palma (AP Scholar with Honors), and Miguel Chacon (AP Scholar with Distinction). Carver High School AP Scholars are Vanessa Arias, Alex Camey Benioto, Laila Chinn, Francean Houngbo, Angel Reyes, Thuy Tran, Cindy Vega-Aguilar, and Daphne Lopez. Davis High School AP Scholars are Luz Carbajal, Cinthia Rangel, and Karen Perez. The Eisenhower High School AP Scholar is Itzel Gomez. The YES Prep Eisenhower High School AP Scholars are Wilfredo Escobar and Mario Tobias. The MacArthur Ninth Grade School AP Scholar is Mariana Nino de Riveria. The MacArthur High School AP Scholars are Monica Aguirre, Stephanie Benitez, Cassandra Chapa, Jasmin Guerrero, Valeria Gutierrez-Gomez, Jacob Hands, Dana Hernandez, Jarely Leal, Willie Lewis, Gustavo Lopez, Alexis Martinez, Roxana Mendez, DeLizah Montenegro, Angela Olivera, Nilo Peralta, Bianca Ponce, Sabrina Prado, Elnecia Preston, Viansi Ramirez, Jesus Ramos, Yosetling Rodriguez, Cyntia Ulloa, Lizbet Valdez, Esteban Echavarria (AP Scholar with Honors) and Jessica Lozoya (AP Scholar with Honors). The Nimitz High School AP Scholar is Weyatta Kpinkin. The Victory Early College High School AP Scholars are Alexa Cruz Flores, Anna De La Cuesta, Sara Orellana, and Emilio Arguello (AP Scholar with Distinction).

Staff assignments announced

Aldine ISD Superintendent Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney announced four staff assignments during the Nov. 17 Board meeting.

Rebecaa Jahr was named Program Director for Elementary Mathematics after serving as an Assistant Principal at Gray Elementary School.

Ana Flores-Bolivar was named Principal of the Newcomer Campus after serving as Principal of Orange Grove Elementary School.

Jericah Jackson was named Principal of the Young Women’s Leadership Academy after serving as the Curriculum Assistant Principal at Shotwell Middle School.

Nichole Thompson was named an Assistant Principal at Grantham Academy after serving as a Teaching Specialist at Wesley Elementary School with Houston ISD.

“Congratulations to all of you on these much-deserved promotions,” Dr. Goffney said.

AEF, Lone Star Foundation receive $20,000 from AISD

During the Nov. 17 Trustees meeting, Aldine ISD provided $20,000 to the Aldine Education Foundation and the Lone Star College Foundation. Both organizations support Aldine ISD students with much-needed scholarships to help them pursue their dreams. AEF Director Linda Flores-Olson received both checks on behalf of the two organizations. “I am proud to represent Aldine Education Foundation and the Lone Star Foundation this evening as we work very closely together,” Olson said. “Thank you for these bighearted gifts that you have given to our two institutions so that all of our students can continue with their post-secondary education and become the leaders that they are destined to become.”

Aldine ISD Trustees and Superintendent Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney joined Aldine Education Foundation Director Linda Flores-Olson, center, for the presentation of a $20,000 donation ($10,000 to each organization) to AEF and the Lone Star Foundation. Pictured are (l-r): Board Member Steve Mead, Dr. Goffney, Olson, Board President Paul Shanklin, Board Assistant Secretary Dr. Kimberley Booker, and Board Member Randy Bates.

Employees recognized

During the Nov. 17 Board meeting, several Aldine ISD employees were recognized for their contributions to the district daily.

Milo Ortiz, Executive Director of Buildings and Properties, named Carroll Academy as his department’s Building of the Month. Deyanira Morfin serves as the Head Custodian, and Sergio Medina is the school’s principal.

Christina Riojas, Director of Transportation, named British Johnson as the Transportation Employee of the Month. British serves as a Star Driver at the Northside Transportation Department.

Capt. Marc Harris named Aldine ISD Police Officer Ray Smith as the Employee of the Month for the Aldine ISD Police Department.

Grants announced

Stacey Smith, Director of Special Programs, announced several grants during the Nov. 17 Trustees meeting.

Xandra Williams-Earlie, Program Director of Secondary Science, received 20 family membership donations from the Museum of Natural Science. The memberships will be distributed throughout the district, providing families with free access to exhibits and docent tours. The memberships are valued at $1,300.

Several teachers at Jones Primary School received grants from various charitable organizations. Those organizations were Chevron, Lyondell, Charles Schwabb, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

• Teacher Maggie Montesino received a $549 grant.
• Teacher Kari Zimmerman received a $571 grant.
• Teacher Chelsea Moon received a $734 grant.
• Teacher Gisele Luna received a $2,110 grant.
• Teacher Yvette Conde received a $7,688 grant to fund nine projects.

Chief Human Resource Officer Dr. Javier Villarreal and Chief Transformation Officer Adrian Bustillos teamed up to receive a two-year grant to expand educator pipelines, increase the number of strong and diverse teaching candidates and provide opportunities for teachers to grow professionally. The grant from Good Reason Houston was for $200,000.

The grants announced at the Nov 17 Board meeting totaled $212,952.

Trustees approve action items

During the Nov. Board meeting, Aldine ISD Trustees approved the following action items:

• Approved the audited financial report for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2020
• Approved the consent agenda
• Approved a Continuing Education Workforce Agreement between Aldine ISD and Lone Star College
• Approved bids for awards, fundraiser vendors, instructional supplies, student and district activities and venues, carpet, vinyl composition tile and rubber base, pre-cut air filter services, carpenter crew services, teacher computer refresh, bid contract renewals, and miscellaneous.
• Approved contracts and purchases of more than $50,000
• Approved General Fund Budget Amendment for Period 5 of the 2020-21 school year
• Approved the Equalis Group Intergovernmental Cooperative purchasing agreement
• Approved monthly tax office refunds
• Approved YES Prep Hoffman and Eisenhower High School Fiscal contract agreement

The December Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 15.